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8 tV /M /\fa[
AMERICAN DESERTER COMMITTEE
102 Villeneuve East /ill'At It/ /-n
Montreal 151, Quebec H^V^ l*(t{-,0
Montreal 151, Quebec
IMPORTANT
"/vil*
This letter is intended to inform you of recent events in the deserter "^ ^
community in Montreal aimed at undermining the effectiveness of the American
Deserter Committee. A group of fi-3 men identifying themselves as deserters,
four of whom have been in Montreal less than a month, has formed the American
Deserter Co-Op in opposition to the ADC.
Here is the chronology of events:
Four men identifying themselves as deserters arrived in Montreal around October
20th and visited our office. Shortly thereafter, the person at that time
responsible for the office, Mike Williams, began to lose contact with the ADC
steering committee and failed to report at coordinating meetings. Upon checking
the office, members of the steering group discovered that five men had taken up
residence in the office and appeared hostile to the ADC as it was then being run.
They argued that the ADC was "too political," citing participation in planning
for the Nov. 15 Moratorium as an example. These men also spread rumors about
the ADC, such as that the committee was training men for Cuba, that the committee
was only interested in extreme left-wing deserters, that one of the immigration
counsellors was a Russian trained agent, and that members of the steering group
were involved in a communist conspiracy.
A special meeting was called to try to air differences between the new group
living at the office and the committee. The office group - Bill Murray, Mike
Williams, Mike Ledbetter, and C ."-k Geling- admitted disagreements existed but
denied any conspiratorial attitude and, after some discussion, agreed to
cooperate with the ADC. At the end of the meeting most ADC members believed
that differences had at least been clarified and that so long as the new group
agreed to function within the organizational framework of the ADC and agreed to
remain responsible to the committee as a whole, cooperation would be possible.
However, two days later the steering committee discovered that this agreement
had been breached and various activities were being conducted at the office
unknown to the ADC. $180 of long distance phone calls unauthorized by the
committee had been made. $100 of these calls were traced to Mike Williams..
Incoming deserters and the' general public were being warned of a "split" within
the ADC between deserters who were "humanitarian" and others interested in
deserters only as political tools. The steering committee now called an
emergency meeting and after extended discussion decided to close the office and
to suspend Mike Williams. When the office group was told of this decision,
they produced a new lease to the office bearing their names. (We are consulting
a lawyer about this.) The new lease confirmed the steering committee's opinion
of the office group as a consciously disruptive element. Further investigation
showed that these persons had received funds in the name of the ADC which had
never been turned over to the treasurer and that new deserters had continued to be
greeted with false information.
We stress t^at no "split" within the ADC has occurred. These men were never
members of the ADCj they have merely formed a new organization. However, because

Copyright belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited.

Copyright belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited.

8 tV /M /\fa[
AMERICAN DESERTER COMMITTEE
102 Villeneuve East /ill'At It/ /-n
Montreal 151, Quebec H^V^ l*(t{-,0
Montreal 151, Quebec
IMPORTANT
"/vil*
This letter is intended to inform you of recent events in the deserter "^ ^
community in Montreal aimed at undermining the effectiveness of the American
Deserter Committee. A group of fi-3 men identifying themselves as deserters,
four of whom have been in Montreal less than a month, has formed the American
Deserter Co-Op in opposition to the ADC.
Here is the chronology of events:
Four men identifying themselves as deserters arrived in Montreal around October
20th and visited our office. Shortly thereafter, the person at that time
responsible for the office, Mike Williams, began to lose contact with the ADC
steering committee and failed to report at coordinating meetings. Upon checking
the office, members of the steering group discovered that five men had taken up
residence in the office and appeared hostile to the ADC as it was then being run.
They argued that the ADC was "too political" citing participation in planning
for the Nov. 15 Moratorium as an example. These men also spread rumors about
the ADC, such as that the committee was training men for Cuba, that the committee
was only interested in extreme left-wing deserters, that one of the immigration
counsellors was a Russian trained agent, and that members of the steering group
were involved in a communist conspiracy.
A special meeting was called to try to air differences between the new group
living at the office and the committee. The office group - Bill Murray, Mike
Williams, Mike Ledbetter, and C ."-k Geling- admitted disagreements existed but
denied any conspiratorial attitude and, after some discussion, agreed to
cooperate with the ADC. At the end of the meeting most ADC members believed
that differences had at least been clarified and that so long as the new group
agreed to function within the organizational framework of the ADC and agreed to
remain responsible to the committee as a whole, cooperation would be possible.
However, two days later the steering committee discovered that this agreement
had been breached and various activities were being conducted at the office
unknown to the ADC. $180 of long distance phone calls unauthorized by the
committee had been made. $100 of these calls were traced to Mike Williams..
Incoming deserters and the' general public were being warned of a "split" within
the ADC between deserters who were "humanitarian" and others interested in
deserters only as political tools. The steering committee now called an
emergency meeting and after extended discussion decided to close the office and
to suspend Mike Williams. When the office group was told of this decision,
they produced a new lease to the office bearing their names. (We are consulting
a lawyer about this.) The new lease confirmed the steering committee's opinion
of the office group as a consciously disruptive element. Further investigation
showed that these persons had received funds in the name of the ADC which had
never been turned over to the treasurer and that new deserters had continued to be
greeted with false information.
We stress t^at no "split" within the ADC has occurred. These men were never
members of the ADCj they have merely formed a new organization. However, because